Posted by BobP (62.252.0.5) on January 29, 2003 at 03:38:14:
In Reply to: Re: Gyroscopes posted by Terry on January 28, 2003 at 10:46:28:
Hi Terry,
You're right that the eyelet mount prevents precession, but this was intended. I'm not sure what you mean by the gyros being only at 12:00 or 6:00. In one revolution of the bar around the main wheel, the gyro pivot actually rotates 360 deg (while the gyro stands still at it's horizontal position- that's the theory anyway...lol).
If the lack of precession stops the gyro supporting it's own weight then the whole idea needs rethinking. I've got some gyros on order and should have them before the weekend. They're fascinating devices but much easier to work with "in the flesh" than trying to imagine how they will act.
Getting the high gearing shouldn't be a problem. (Look at any mechanical clock.....disable the escapement and back drive it by turning the hands manually. You'll see how high the gearing is with only a few small gears). In fact, a clockmaker would be the ideal person to tackle this.
Example...If the main wheel had 500 teeth, and the small wheel 10 teeth, that's already 50:1. Now make the first bevel gear with 50 teeth driving the smaller bevel gear with, say, 5 teeth. This is another 10:1, making a compound ratio of 500:1. If, for example, the bar took 1 second to rotate, the gyro would spin 500 times (or 500rps, which equals 3000rpm). Hopefully, this would be sufficient to enable correct gyroscopic action.
Best regards
Bob